Dual lumen catheters are commonly used in the field of vascular intervention and, more particularly, are used in extracorporeal treatment procedures of bodily fluids. For example, a bodily fluid may be withdrawn from a patient vessel through one lumen of a dual lumen catheter, subjected to a treatment process, and then returned to the patient vessel through the other lumen of the dual lumen catheter. One such extracorporeal treatment process that often utilizes a dual lumen catheter is hemodialysis. During a hemodialysis procedure, blood is withdrawn from a blood vessel through a withdrawal lumen of the catheter and routed through a dialysis machine, such as a dialyzer, where waste products are removed from the blood. The cleansed, or filtered, blood is then returned to the blood vessel through an infusion lumen of the catheter.
A dual lumen catheter, when used for hemodialysis, is generally inserted into the patient through the jugular vein, subclavian vein, or the femoral vein. Although a dual lumen catheter is typically used for temporary vascular access, it may be used for long-term access while a permanent access, such as a fistula, develops, or in situations where a permanent access is not feasible. If long-term catheter use is necessary, the catheter may be tunneled under the skin to increase comfort for the patient and reduce complications.
Common dual lumen catheters used in hemodialysis procedures are referred to as split tip catheters, having staggered lumens, where one lumen, typically the infusion lumen, terminates distal to the other lumen, typically the withdrawal lumen. Some problems exhibited with the use of these split tip catheters include the withdrawal lumen “sucking” against the vessel wall. Specifically, a distal tip, or port, of the withdrawal lumen may suction against the vessel wall, leaving the withdrawal lumen partially or completely occluded by the patient's vasculature. An addition problem related to dual lumen catheters includes the recirculation of cleansed blood, which may lower the efficiency of the hemodialysis procedure.
The present disclosure is directed toward one or more of the problems set forth above.